Sydney Term Deposits

Are you living in Sydney and looking for a place to put your hard-earned money? Term deposits are an excellent way to park your savings as they offer high interest at competitive rates for a fixed term of your choosing. At Mozo, we compare term deposits from banks, mutual banks, and credit unions across Sydney and Australia helping you to select the best term deposit for you.

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sydney term deposits

Sydney term deposit comparisons on Mozo - last updated 9 December 2023

Search promoted term deposits below or do a full Mozo database search . Advertiser disclosure
  • Online Term Deposit

    5.00% p.a.
    9 months

    $1,000

    Yes up to $250,000

    Enjoy the certainty of a fixed interest rate combined with the convenience of online banking to set up and manage your term deposit at maturity. You can start investing from as little as $1,000 or up to $5,000,000.

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Term deposit resources

Reviews, news, tips and guides to help find the best term deposit for you.

How do term deposits work?

Term deposits in Sydney work much the same across the rest of the country. By applying for a certain term—say, one year—you’ll be given a fixed interest rate that will apply to the deposit until its maturation date. 

Upon reaching maturity, you may choose to either roll over to a new term with the interest gained or instead choose to have your savings deposited into a bank account of your choosing. 

It may be tempting to apply for a 5-year term at a higher interest rate, but keep in mind that if you need to withdraw this cash at any point before the term deposit maturation, you’ll likely have some restrictions such as AMP term deposits requiring a 31-day prior notice for early withdrawal. 


Why might you need a term deposit in Sydney?

With inflation on the rise, it’s becoming increasingly important for Sydneysiders to keep their savings stored away in high-interest accounts to offset inflationary pressures. 

Term deposits are a great way to keep money stashed away as they generally offer higher interest rates on average than savings accounts. However, to gain a higher interest rate, you’ll need to keep your cash stored away for longer terms which may not work for savers with limited cash flow. 

In addition, it’s important to note that term deposit providers will usually require a minimum deposit amount ranging from $1,000-$25,000 depending on the account. 


What banks offer good term deposit rates in Sydney?

As Australia’s biggest city, Sydney has wide access to a variety of term deposit providers giving a breadth of options. 

But Sydneysiders no longer need to restrict themselves to local branches anymore as more online term deposits are offered by banks who themselves find greater advantage in becoming increasingly digital.


Should I take a long or short-term deposit?

The length of your term deposit depends on your financial situation as well as the financial environment you find yourself in.

For instance, taking a longer term deposit will generally give you a higher interest rate which you can take advantage of well into a low-interest-rate environment due to the rate being fixed. 

However, if you were to take a 5-year term deposit and find yourself in a lower interest rate environment by the time of maturation, it would leave you with few options in terms of where to deposit your money. 

In turn, shorter term deposits can be more advantageous in long-term rising interest rate conditions as they allow you to roll over (with interest gained) into an even better interest rate. You can also use shorter periods to keep your money safe and growing for a later investment that they are planned for.


What are the cons of term deposits?

Whilst term deposits are classed as a safe investment, they do have some trade-offs in comparison to riskier investment types. 

  • Low returns: In comparison to other investments such as stocks and bonds, term deposits usually have lower rates of return

  • Lack of liquidity: Term deposits generally have to give 31 days notice if they wish to withdraw before the maturation date.

  • Inflation risk: The interest earned on a term deposit may not keep up with inflation, meaning that you could end up with overall less by the maturation date.

  • Limited diversification: Term deposits are simply a lump sum of money deposited in a particular bank account.


What’s the difference between a term deposit and a savings account?

So how are term deposits any different from a savings account? For one, one big difference that savings accounts have is that they generally have a variable interest rate. 

What this means is that if you open a savings account with an interest rate of 3%, you’re in no way guaranteed to keep this, especially if the economic situation deteriorates. 

On the other hand, term deposits usually have a fixed interest rate. This means that if you applied for a 3% term deposit for 2 years, you’ll keep that interest rate right up until the maturation date. 


How do I apply for a term deposit?

  1. Compare: Look around for term deposits with the best rates. At Mozo we compare term deposits with the best interest rates for comparison.

  2. Decide deposit amount: Depending on the term deposit provider, your minimum deposit amount will vary so make sure you have enough.

  3. Set up your deposit: Make sure you have all the necessary documents nearby to make the process as easy and quick as possible.

  4. Wait: for as long as you set your deposit term and watch your money grow until maturation.  



Picture of Cameron Thomson
Cameron Thomson
Money writer

Cameron recently earned a BA in Creative Writing and History, and also worked at 2SER Radio during his degree. He mainly writes across savings, banking, and insurance at Mozo. 

Term Deposit Reviews

Judo Bank Term Deposit
Overall 7/10
Not the best LTD rates anymore

Unfortunately they don’t offer the highest long term deposit rates anymore :-(

Read full review

Unfortunately they don’t offer the highest long term deposit rates anymore :-(

Price
7/10
Features
7/10
Less
Ko, Victoria, reviewed 30 days ago
AMP Bank Term Deposit
Overall 1/10
BEYOND BELIEF

Recently had two term deposits redeemed before maturity without my authority. This resulted in a loss of interest to me of $694.36 Contacted amp on two occasions and both times experienced bad lines and incoherent staff. I am now taking action with AFCA and cannot wait for my other term deposits to mature so as i can leave this mob.. Is it any wonder that AMP shares are a disaster.

Read full review

Recently had two term deposits redeemed before maturity without my authority. This resulted in a loss of interest to me of $694.36 Contacted amp on two occasions and both times experienced bad lines and incoherent staff. I am now taking action with AFCA and cannot wait for my other term deposits to mature so as i can leave this mob.. Is it any wonder that AMP shares are a disaster.

Price
8/10
Features
4/10
Customer service
1/10
Convenience
1/10
Trust
1/10
Less
Leslie, Victoria, reviewed 30 days ago
Bank Australia Term Deposit
Overall 6/10
Good rates, helpful staff, poor online services

Signed up for a term deposit with BA due to their competitive rates. The account works fine as it is an uncomplicated product, however getting it set up was quite a large headache. After setting up online access, I had continual issues trying to transfer money into the account, with little useful information provided by the website/online portal. Calling customer support was helpful - no issues at all with their service, but this was quite frustrating as it was the result of a fundamental part of their service being unusable and unintuitive from the outset. I had no further issues after that point, however - but that is hardly surprising for an account that is intended to be left alone anyway.

Read full review

Signed up for a term deposit with BA due to their competitive rates. The account works fine as it is an uncomplicated product, however getting it set up was quite a large headache. After setting up online access, I had continual issues trying to transfer money into the account, with little useful information provided by the website/online portal. Calling customer support was helpful - no issues at all with their service, but this was quite frustrating as it was the result of a fundamental part of their service being unusable and unintuitive from the outset. I had no further issues after that point, however - but that is hardly surprising for an account that is intended to be left alone anyway.

Price
9/10
Features
8/10
Customer service
8/10
Convenience
4/10
Trust
9/10
Less
David, South Australia, reviewed about 1 month ago

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